Silence is Key
by ineedhelpwithmylifern
Summary: When the Teen Titans find a kid, battered and completely broken in a destroyed building, they decide to take him in. But when that certain kid is mute and won't even attempt to communicate with any of the Titans, Robin decides to take matters into his own hands. Who is this kid, and what does he have to do with the death of the Fentons almost a year ago?
1. Chapter 1

There had been rumors of an odd organization doing experiments just outside of Jump City. Robin had wondered about it repeatedly, but whenever they had the chance to check it out, something came up or something was going wrong in the tower.

But recently, a quarter of the supposed building exploded, and half of it basically imploded.

So here the Teen Titans were, beginning to investigate the site. Beast boy had picked up a shard of glass and looked at it. "Woah, what happened here?"

"We don't know, Beast Boy." Raven looked around. "I sense someone."

"There is someone in here?" Starfire quickly looked around. "Where?"

"I can't tell. The structure is interfering with my powers."

"I can understand that. It's like a maze in here." Cyborg stated, looking down a hallway.

"There are three paths? What one should we take?" Star wondered aloud.

Robin spoke up. "We should split up. Cyborg and Beast Boy, Raven with Starfire, and me by myself."

"But Robin-" They all seemed to complain at the same time.

"No, we just need to get this over with." The other Titans nodded, got into their groups, and situated themselves in front of their own hallway. Robin stared ahead. "If you find anything, tell someone." He paused and got ready to go. "Titans Go!"

* * *

Robin had found multiple things broken or shattered, laying on the ground, not enough to tell the rest of the team he had found something.

But the room he had found at the end of his path was something else.

The door was ripped off its hinges, there was a hole in the back of the room, showing off the ravine the building was almost built over, there was a large amount of destroyed tech, and-

There was a kid, who looked only about a year younger than him, sitting down in the corner of the room with a blank stare, his mouth moving, but nothing coming out. His hair was long and an unruly mess, and his clothes were in no better condition, with rips and tears and stains of blood and a green substance he couldn't identify.

Robin was about to walk up to him when his communicator went off.

The kid looked up and saw the Boy Wonder, gaining a fearful look on his face. He crawled backwards, toward the hole in the wall. He placed his hand into one wrong spot, and fell into the ravine.

Robin whispered a curse under his breath and dove for the kid. He managed to grab his leg, but the kid only squirmed and tried to get away. In the process, the kid hit his head on the side of the ravine, and passed out, only making it harder for Robin.

By the time he had gotten the kid back up, the other Titans had gotten to him.

"Dude, are you okay?" Beast Boy had rushed in first.

"You didn't answer each time we called you." Raven said as the others came in.

"This is the reason," Robin said, gesturing toward the kid, "I think he needs help."


	2. Chapter 2

Danny shivered at the bright light and quickly closed his eyes. Where was he? He was in a bed, and there was a beeping noise. A hospital?

No, the Titans had gotten him.

But they didn't know he was half ghost.

They probably put him in a hospital...

Oh, no. If they put them in a hospital- His secret!

Danny shot up with a gasp. He was in some sort of hospital, but different. He couldn't put his finger on it. But right in front of him was Robin. Leader of the Teen Titans.

"You okay?" The leader looked at him with a straight face, no emotion.

Danny tried- he honest to God tried- to answer, but all that came out were small and short rasps and gasps. He felt his throat. Did the attack damage this throat? Did he-?

The halfa's train of thought was interrupted by Robin speaking up. "Can't talk?"

Danny's eyes comically widened and he nodded.

The Boy Wonder paused and thought for a moment. "Cyborg said you probably wouldn't be able to, due to the damage to your throat and vocal chords. We should be able to find a way to be able to speak with you; we are going to need to teach you sign language or something..."

Danny clapped to get Robin's attention. Robin looked up to see Danny pretending to write something down.

"Paper? Now that is much simpler. I'll..." He paused. "Be right back." He practically ran out of the room, leaving Danny alone.

'Why is he trying to help me? Robin- the Boy Wonder, leader of the Teen Titans, Batman's sidekick. Why is he doing anything for me? I'm a monster. I can't-' Danny's thoughts were interrupted by Robin.

"Hey, I'm back," Robin whispered as he walked into the room. "I couldn't find much, but here." He handed Danny the pencil and paper. "Write something."

Danny scribbled something down and showed it to Robin. It read: What time is it?

"About midnight. Why?"

Danny shrugged and wrote something else down. Danny.

"Danny? Is that your name? Any last name?"

The halfa shrugged once more and showed Robin the word Danny again.

So Robin nodded and spoke, "Danny. Right. Do you know why you were in that building when it collapsed?"

Yes and no, but I'd rather not talk about it right now...

"Does it have to do anything with scars on your body?"

Danny froze, and in the process wrote a line across the paper.

"Danny? Are you okay?"

He was able to quickly write something down, Yeah, I'm fine. Just I don't want to talk about that right now.

"Sorry," Robin apologized, "Anything I need to know tonight?"

Danny shook his head and handed Robin the piece of paper.

"Alright. I'll see you later." Robin left the room leaving Danny alone to his thoughts.

* * *

Robin walked down the hallway to his room, trying to be quiet so he wouldn't wake anybody up.

He took one last look at the piece of paper to see, amongst the other words and phrases, a scribbled sentence.

Don't tell the other Titans I'm awake yet. Please.

Robin would abide to the request unless it put anybody's life in danger. So, he would remain quiet about Danny.


	3. Chapter 3

**Hey! Happy to throw an update on ya that seems rather late lol.**

 **I posted this a while back on Ao3, and I'm finally posting it here. I post things more often on my Ao3 (ineedhelpwithmylifern) and updates are gonna be more frequent(?) there.**

* * *

For the next few nights, when it was late and Robin could sneak in and see Danny, they spoke. Robin learned more about Danny, and in turn, Danny learned more about Robin and the Titans. He learned that they didn't want to hurt him. He took solace in that fact.

But, of course, as he promised, Robin didn't tell the team. That was what was asked of him. So, he did it.

It probably wasn't the best idea, but Robin kept secrets, and this kid obviously had some of his own.

He worked with it, especially with the team being out on a mission. He had decided to be the one to stay back for Danny.

This also gave him the chance to research what he could about the company that had held him captive, that had seemed to had hurt him. What he had found out was that the company was 'The Guys in White,' a surprisingly government agency, based around capturing and destroying ghosts. They were to gain info about the creatures and protect the country, as so it seemed.

There had been multiple reports of them misusing their funding from the government, spending it on unneeded equipment and such. But, there was something that said that they had begun testing a few years back on a few ghosts, each of the with odd names- the Box Ghost, Skulker, Youngblood, Ember. But the name that stuck out to him the most was the town hero of Amity Park- Danny Phantom.

And it was odd to say the least. The kid they found had the same name as this ghost, but that had to be a coincidence. They looked pretty different, the white hair and bright green eyes were a stark difference from Danny.

But there was still a lingering suspicion.

* * *

Danny hummed, Robin was back again.

 _So, what now?_

The writing was small and quick, but the leader could pick it up quick. "Well, the rest of the team is out, so if you want to-"

Danny sat up fully, smiling. _Could I get up, do something?_

"If you want to try," Robin stood. The kid was getting better by the day, his blue eyes brighter and more lively each visit. He was healing faster than expected as well.

The boy swung his legs over the side of the bed, a grin on his face. He slid off the mattress and his feet hit the floor, immediately glancing at his hospital gown. Danny gave the leader a look of 'Really?' then took a step forward before falling on top of the hero, both of them toppling to the ground.

Blue eyes met masked ones, and the voiceless boy's face went bright red. He quickly stood up, leaving the dazed Robin on the ground. Danny seemed to have gained back his ability to walk, making his way to the door and opening it. He disappeared into the hallways of the tower.

Robin collected himself, walking into to the door and into the hallways.

 _The kid could be anywhere by now._

He strolled down one direction, searching for wherever he could have gone.

After about an hour of searching, Danny had appeared in front of him, the paper and pencil in hand. He held the paper up, a large _Sorry_ written on it.

"It's okay, you just- You needed a moment."

The kid nodded his head. He scribbled something down before showing it to Robin. _Am I allowed to explore the tower? Can I do what I want?_

"As long as you don't _leave_ the tower, you'll be fine."

Danny silently celebrated as he walked off again.

Robin would be watching through the video cameras.

* * *

 **:))))**


	4. Chapter 4

Robin tapped his fingers on the desk glancing to the camera view of the living room every once in a few moments. He didn't want Danny to get in to any trouble or get hurt. He could have given him a tour, but exploring seemed to help him get acquainted enough. The boy seemed to be looking at one of their DVDs, maybe there was a clue behind it. Robin moved so he could zoom in and check before he heard a sound come from another camera view.

He looked to it, forgetting Danny for a moment.

"Do you think the kid's woken up yet?"

The rest of the Titans were back, and Danny was up and about.

...

Danny found himself running around the tower, this time his main goal to explore and _not_ to hide from Robin. He ran down the stairs, really no destination in mind. He was in Titans Tower, home of the _Teen Titans_. He smiled quietly, thinking what Sam and Tucker would think, and then the smile vanished as he remembered what happened.

 _No, don't think about it. Don't..._

He shook his head and pressed on. He would figure out his way around. When he had hid, he had found a way into the living room and was there for a solid three seconds and had dashed out again. That could be a goal. There was surely a TV in there, and he did see a controller laying haphazardly on the couch when he ran by.

Now, Danny didn't remember which way it was, so it was a lot of trial and error- and a wall, which he had run into- until he found the place he was searching for. He found himself only looking at the items in the room- the table, the chairs, the couch- and not touching, a flicker of fear residing in his chest as if someone would hurt him if he even left a _trace_ of a fingerprint on it.

Blue eyes scanned the room and rested on a small table which looked to be somewhat of a TV stand, but with no TV. He glanced over everything on it- a DVD player, a few consoles, a cable box, a set of speakers. As he grew closer to the collection of games and movies, he noticed a familiar case. He hesitated before grabbing it, but slid it out easily.

It was the third version of the game 'Doomed,' a game Danny had used to play with _them._ He flipped it over, reading everything he could. He took the information in with a sigh. In order for it to already be the third game, it would have to be at least 2 years with the GiW, it scared him a bit. He knew nothing of time in that lab, would that mean that he was 16 now? He would have to ask Robin for the date...

Danny shook his head, placing the game back on the shelf and stepping back. He would have to try it out sometime, but not now. He wanted to know how long he had been down there. He turned to walk over to one of the side doors. A noise stopped him in his tracks, though. The main doors had opened and some people walked in. And they didn't look or sound like Robin.

Without thinking, he turned invisible and pressed up against the wall. He couldn't transform and his intangibility wasn't back fully. The only powers he could really use at the moment was invisibility and the ghost healing. And only his invisibility would help in this situation. The rest of his powers were still slowly returning to him. The scream had been strong enough to destroy a whole building, and add that to the fact that he was experimented on-

The people walked into the room as if they owned the place. And they did, but Danny's mind couldn't comprehend that these were the rest of the Teen Titans and not an actual threat.

"Shall I tell Robin that we have returned?" One of them asked, smiling and floating up into the air. Her pink hair floated around her, her green eyes easy to see.

 _Another ghost?_

She was missing the ghost-like glow and her skin was of a normal human color, but there still was a lingering suspicion. He could go up to her, but not with the others around. She could help him escape maybe.

"Probably, he'd like to know we're back. He could inform us on our guest." The teen who appeared to be half robot spoke.

Danny pushed himself further up against the wall, only to have the door open by him and his exact instinct to _run._ He didn't want to be caught by them. no. Not ever. He would run, be gone, not experimented on again.

 _Never again._

He slid around corners and up stairs. If he could reach whatever the roof was, maybe he could transform and fly and get away. He just needed to get through this maze of a building first.

...

"What was that?" Beast Boy asked, looking toward the door that had just opened and closed, with no one there.

"Could be a glitch in the system," Cyborg hummed, "I'll have to check that. But, we should check anyway, it could be Robin."

The rest of them nodded, only to be interrupted by Robin running in. "Did you see him?" With the confused stares he got, he almost seemed relieved yet even more nervous. "Did any of the doors open or close since you've been in here?"

"Actually, yes," Cyborg spoke up, "But why do you need to-"

"Which one?"

He pointed to the door that had seemed to be acting oddly and Robin was off and running again. He narrowed his eye. "What was that about?"

"He was looking for someone?" Beast Boy stated, even though it came out as a question.

...

Danny stood at the edge of roof, willing himself to transform. "Please," He whispered, his panic still resting in his chest. His invisibility was flickering out, the over-exertion taking ts toll. "Please. I need to go or they'll get me..." This is what he had done when he had exploded the building.

"Danny?" A voice asked, making him turn his head and finally let go of his invisibility, keeping him grounded as being visible. Robin had emerged out onto the roof. "What's wrong?"

He stepped away from the edge and stepped toward Robin, tired. He ended up falling onto the hero, being caught as it wasn't much of a surprise. Danny made no comments as he took a moment of rest.

Robin shook his head, sitting and laying Danny down. The boy curled in on himself, his blue eyes losing the look of fear. "You alright?" He asked, earning a weak thumbs-up from the other boy. "What happened?"

Danny opened his mouth to speak, then closed it, remembering his problem. He sighed.

Robin couldn't help but chuckle. "I'll have to get you to learn sign language or something."

Danny rolled over with a groan.

The door to the roof opened and the other Titans stepped out. "What happened?"


End file.
